The grey dawn of the next day breaks, burning fitfully through the morning fog to light the sea, showing something strange about the waters below. They seem almost solid, as if the sea has formed some sort of strange skin. The air seems dead as well, and the sails hang limp, heavy with moisture from the receding fog.

Finally the mist begins to clear, and what is unveiled is not the gently rolling vista of the sea but a wet green field of weed. The swath of dirty green stretches flatly in all directions. To the stern, it extends for perhaps a half mile, beyond which lie the open waters of the mocking sea. In all other directions, the weed extends to the horizon. Trapped within its vice are dozens of other long-dead ships, their hulls protruding from the Sargasso at odd angles, masts askew, sails hanging in tatters. Just within view are three vessels that look in slightly better condition than the others.

Perhaps most unnerving, however, is neither the sight nor smell of so much sun-baked seaweed. It is the unnatural silence, for the thick choking green as robbed the Sea Wyvern of even the strangely comforting sound of water lapping against her hull. It is not a healthy silence. It is the silence of a graveyard.

The silence of their journey's end.

Journey Hazards List
Pirates                           [X]
Sharks                            [X]
Severe Storms                     [X]
Sargasso Sea / Journey's End      [X]
Thunder Lizards                   [?]
Dragon Turtles                    [ ]
Volcanoes                         [ ]
Horrific Monsters                 [X]

Hazards Encountered to date: 5 or possibly 6 of 8

OOC: Do savage thunder lizards count?

Celene looked out over the swath of destroyed ships and frowned. "Sunken ships aside this Sargasso Sea seems rather harmless. Unless of course those other boats contain numbers of undead sailors." she said to whoever would listen. "Does anyone have a spy glass?" she calls wondering if they'd be able to make anything out on the nearest ship.

Urol reaches deep down into his pants and then proudly produces a compact cylinder.

"See Celene," he says enthusiastically as he shows her its operation. "It extends really long. Like this... Whoops!" The end falls off it. "You need to be careful with that thing. It's getting a bit old."

Celene watches the old gnome reach into his pants and is relieved when he only retrieves a cylinder "Well if that isn't a straight line. I don't know what is..." she mumbled. Before extending the glass and peering through it at the ships beyond.

11:25, Today: Celene rolled 7 using 1d20+3.  Perception.

Performance anxiety. :(

Celene spends a couple of minutes examining each of the three vessels with the spyglass. It seems that all of them have been trapped in the Sargasso sea for some time, judging by the poor condition they are in. Masts have snapped, boards are rotten and over everything there are creepers growing. That said, at least they still have intact hulls, which is more than any of the other nearby remains have.

Anyway, there are no hints of sailors: undead, savage or normal on any of the ships.

During the last few days Kinstal had gotten up and practiced with his new weapon,  wanting to get comfortable with it before he next needed to use it.

This morning he got up and upon coming hip on the deck he was glad he had been practicing.   Looking out over the sea of green he got any uneasy feeling.

Seeing Celene and Urol, Kinstal walked over to see if they could see anything on the other ships.

"Isn't there any way that we can go around this sargasso sea ?" said Angati looking quite nervous as her sister was almost pulling her hair out in front of her.

"Some time ago... upon looking at one painting done by late Vanthus girlfriend... the one that died pregnant... I forget her name damn... anyway... I saw myself dying horribly just in the middle of this very same sea... it was quite vivid, and I didn't like it in the least. So... if there is any way around it... and given what we have seen with regards to dreams...  I'd avoid it."

"I think the time to avoid it passed." Celene said as she looked for an opinion from Alohan and the crew. "We need to learn what we can about these weeds in the ocean. The key to our survival might lie with them."

<orange>Are there any knowledge checks to be made? If so I would think the best bet would be to use Angati's fortune to get two shots at it taking the better die roll.</coral>

The party scour the horizon. North of them is a seemingly never-ending mat of undulating green seaweed, but south of them, about half a mile away, they can see the open sea.

OOC: Skill checks? Yes, the module states that the following checks would be useful: knowledge (nature), profession (sailor) or bardic knowledge.

Alohan (firmly back in NPC mode) scowls at the thick weed. "Der be only one way of finding out. We be cutting de Sea Wyvern free." He starts organising the crew to get down to the weed to see what can be done.



"Dat be Brissa Santos you be dinking of Angati. She be a good girl underneath, I be dinking, but she be falling in with dat bad Vanthus." The native shakes his head sadly remembering how Brissa finished her dates. Mutated into a monstrousity and put out of her misery in the caverns under Kraken's Cove. "But you should not be dinking of her paintings. Dat not mean much - but we be sailing around for sure."

OOC: Giving Kassius a chance to make a nature skill check.

Kassius looks out at the strange weed, trying to think where he's seen this before.

18:37, Today: Kassius rolled 24 using 1d20+6.  knowledge (nature).
Hah!

Oh yes, Kassius has heard of 'Journey's End' alright... His father had read stories to him about it out of 'The Little Barbarian's Big Book of Tales', and this story in particular had always freaked Kassius out.

On the surface, their situation wasn't so dire. This swath of seaweed is a sargasso, a treacherous patch of vegetation pulled free by storms only to collect in regions of the sea that wind and currents seem to fear. A patch a mile across would be very unusual, and this patch stretched into the murky horizon...

...because this particular patch was the infamous 'Journey's End'. The bedtime stories he'd been told by his father spoke of a living island that appeared from the mists after storms. This terrible lands was said to have a black soul at its center that fueled the hunger of the children rumoured to live within its green embrace.

He could still hear his father reading the story aloud in in hushed tones.  The old barbarian had told the story of a land that was able to crush ships within its grip. The story told of children... awful creatures formed of the weed itself. The story said that they rose by night to slake their hunger upon any their green mother has caught in her grasp.

Kassius always had nightmares after that particular bedtime story had been read to him.

OOC: Cool! So, who is going down onto the surface of the weed to help Captain Alohan and his crew to try and free the ship? It looks like the weed is thick enough to actually walk on, so you probably won't get wet... much. The time is now 08:00.

Celene finds a way down to the morass of green vegetation "I can't just wait here to die..." she says as she disappears over the side of the boat.

Celene summons up her courage and then climbs over the edge with Alohan and the rest of the Sea Wyvern's crew, down the rope ladder. She glances over her shoulder as she descends and  takes in the view again. There are many remains of wrecks spread here and there, trapped in the middle of the weed. But there are only three substantial hulls visible.


Sea Wyvern = X. The letters A, B & C are the three mostly intact ships/wrecks that are visible. Scale is... I don't know. It will take about two hours to walk to one of the ships due to the difficult terrain.


OOC: Okay, Celene goes, Angati stays on board. I will give the rest of you 24 hrs to respond and then roll to see what your character does if you haven't answered. 50:50 chance of staying onboard or helping out.

Just so you get the right idea, it is not like you'll be going more than a couple of yards from the ship... You are just cutting the weed right behind the Sea Wyvern and then trying to tow it back into the open water.

Logan swishes his swords through the air a few times, as if testing them out, then straps them on his back and joins Celene and Alohan in their attempts to free the boat.

I had understood we were going to explore those ships...

Angati sighed, it was probably pride that moved her over with Celene to help on the weeding process more than anything else. She tried to find some comfort on thinking that if worse came to worst, she always had the manta ray cloak on her.

 Kinstal looked down at the carpet of green covering the ocean.  Sure it looked strong enough but he would definitely need to remove his armor before going down there.   If they needed more help he would go remove his armor, but for now he would stand guard on the ship.

Celene, Angati, Logan & Alohan go down to their deaths to cut the seaweed, while Kassius, Kibeti and Kinstal stay on board to cover them.

OOC: Well, the fact that I described those three ships and even made a map to their location does suggest that you'll end up exploring them at some point. But you have to try the logical thing first and attempt to cut the ship free. Who knows, maybe it will work? :D :D

Half the party joins the crew in climbing down to the surface of the weed. The Sargasso is soft and gives way a little underfoot so that every step is a wet slodging affair (it is all 'difficult terrain' and costs double to move in) but is at least thick enough to support their weight...

... in fact it is so thick that cutting through it to free the ship is a nightmare. The tangled weed is about 10' thick on average and doesn't just consist of the rubbery seaweed fronds that are nearly impossible to cut through. Mixed up with it is all sorts of flotsam that must have been floating around the sea... tree trunks, dead marine life ranging from small fish, to rotting seal carcasses, bits of torn up ships... all mixed up together into a putrid rotting morass. When they start cutting through the sulphur smell from the weed threatens to make them sick at times.

So the work is very slow and very difficult under the hot tropical sun. After several hours they have moved the shop only a couple of dozen yards and then Urol, who is still up on deck, makes a terrible recovery. The edge of the Sargasso closest to them is growing, actually growing fast enough that it will be difficult to outrun the rate at which they can cut. Urol shakes his head in amazement and declares that there is no way that this can be natural.

Alohan spurs his crew to redouble their efforts and they work their asses off. But it is no good. As the sun begins to sink beneath the horizon the Sea Wyvern is no closer to the edge of the Sargasso than it was at sun up.

Then one of the crew on deck calls out in alarm. Shapes are stirring in the distant green, and the mist rises once again, the party begins to see the shape of horror rising from the weeds. Plant like monsters that are vaguely humanoid swell up from the seaweed like shoots pushing up from the soil.

Suddenly those still trying to free the ship feel green roots shooting across their feet and climbing up their legs. The slippery weed underneath them ships as some of these creatures... vine horrors... begin to form right under them!

OOC: Initial placement decided randomly by the dice roller

Sailor #1 is entangled and begins to be pulled down into the green weed. Celene calls out in alarm at the sight but has no time to do anything else as shoots also appear around her ankles <GRAPPLED>. Logan and sailor #4 are likewise entrapped (grappled).

Alohan kicks free of the roots trying to entangle him scornfully. "Get back on de boat!" he screams as he moves towards sailor #1. "You not be taking dat man!" he screams as he starts frothing at the mouth. He ignores the second horror that appears on his side and slams its seaweedy fists into him (5 hp), and runs to help his sailor.

Celene is well and truly stuck fast and can only watch in horror as creature rises up out of the weed in front of her. She gets a good look at it... seaweed bundled together in a humanoid shape and then closes her eyes as the faceless monsters balls up its fists and raises them above its head... the blows shake her body (11 hp).

Sailor #3 remains free, but is pummelled by the next attack (13 hp).

Logan can't avoid the creature that appears in front of him (19 hp).

Angati is able to escape the first grapple attack, but her jaw drops as no less than FOUR more of the creatures rise up to surround her. Flat-footed, she doesn't have time to dodge but her armour proves its worth again - the creatures' fists rain down on her but somehow she manages to only be hit twice - but they are solid hits (13 hp).

<END OF ENEMIES' ROUND ONE>

HIT POINTS & MISFORTUNE
The Party & Allies
Kinstal AC:23/T14/F21 HP: 78/78 <MF NOT USED>
Angati  AC:22/T13/F20 HP: 43/56 <MF NOT USED>
Logan   AC:21/T16/F16 HP: 20/39 <MF NOT USED> <GRAPPLED>
Celene  AC:10/T10/F10 HP: 18/29 <MF NOT USED> <GRAPPLED>
Kassius AC:19/T15/F14 HP: 37/37 <MF NOT USED>
Kibeti  AC:21/T14/F17 HP: 42/42 <MF NOT USED>
Omi     AC:14/T14/F12 HP: 28/28 <MF NOT USED>

Alohan  AC:21/T20/F16 HP: 47/52 +12 RAGE_HP <MF NOT USED>
Skald   AC:17/T13/F14 HP: 20/20 <MF NOT USED>
Amella  AC:16/T13/F16 HP: 20/20 <MF NOT USED>
Avner   AC:17/T14/F15 HP: 20/20 <MF NOT USED>

Vine Horror AC:19/T13/F16 HP: 42

(De-)Buffs
Whole Party
None
Kinstal
None
Angati
None
Logan
None
Kassius
None
Kibeti
None
Celene
None
Omi
None

<START OF PLAYERS' ROUND ONE>


Battle map

Artist's impression of what it looks like. Hmm... scary.

Kassius and Kibeti share a quick conversation, and then spring into action. Kassius tugs on his magic to further enhance the cat's strength, then draws his bow, reaching for an arrow.
Kibeti leaps off the boat and moves towards the closest vine horror. He struggles to get his footing amidst the strange weeds, and his bite goes wide.

---

Kassius

---

HP: 37/37 AC 19 (FF=14, Touch=15),
Move Action: Draw Bow
Standard Action: Cast Vine Strike on Kibeti
Swift Action: Animal Focus
Saves+8/+11(+12)/+6
Spells Slots: 1st: 4/5; 2nd: 4/4;  Animal Focus Minutes Left: 5/6, Door Sight 6/6
Current Buffs: Animal Focus (Tiger)

---

Kibeti
16:37, Today: Kibeti rolled 8,11 using 1d20+7,2d6+3.  attack, damage.
Move Action: Move to H5
Standard Action: Attack 1 (miss)

---

HP: 42/42 AC 19( (FF=17,Touch=14), Saves+7/+9/+6
Current Animal Focus: bull(+2 str)
Current Buffs: Vine Strike

'Damn is this how I go?' thought Angati filled with sadness rather than right out fear. The sight was depressing indeed, the soggy creatures were damn right terrifying there in the middle of the green ocean, but as fate, it was quite sad.

'Ok, time to think hard... let's see if I can get these guys not to hit me... but what to do first ?' she took a defensive stance, concentrating on time bending, and once she sensed it was in place, her shape becoming blurry, she pushed her way towards Logan

---

HP: 43/56 |  AC: 2224 | CMD : 15 | Saves: 4/4/5
Free : step 8E | Swft : | Move : F13 | Stnd :  Time Flicker

---

Special Notes:

  (De)Buffs :  Blur 20% Miss chance.
 Conditions :
  L1 Spells : 7+1/7+1 CLW, Ill Omen, Protect from evil, Obscurring Mist, Divine Favor, Summon Monster ,Sanctuary, Liberating command
  L2 Spells : 4+1/4+1 Oracles Burden, Cure Moderate Wounds, Spiritual Weapon, Restoration Lesser, Instrument of Agony
  L3 Spells: 4+1/4+1 Cure Serious Wounds, Bestow curse, Summon monster III
  Abilities : Misfortune, Fortune, Starlight Agility (dodge), Time Flicker (3/3 minutes blur),Temporal Celerity

Celene cries out as she is grabbed by the vine creatures. She struggles to cast a spell. Waves of entropy radiate from Celene and catch the vine creatures between her and Logan in their wake.

---

Free :  | Swft :  | Move : None | Stnd: Cast Slow | Full :

Vine Horrors 4,5,6,7,8 and 9 need a DC 19 will save or be slowed

http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG...pells/slow.html#slow

Attempting two concentration checks one to be able to cast at all due to being grappled. Then a second cast defensively.

06:45, Today: Celene rolled 31 using 1d20+12.  Concentration DC 13+CMB of enemy (20?).

06:45, Today: Celene rolled 29 using 1d20+12.  Cast defensively DC 21.

---

HP: 18/29 |  AC: 10/10/10  | CMD : 10 | Saves: +4/+4/+9

Special Notes:

  (De)Buffs :
 Conditions :
  L0 Spells :
   - Unlim. : Dancing Lights, Daze (DC16), Detect Poison, Drench, Flame Burst,
              Light, Mage Hand, Message,
   - 1/day  : Detect Magic, Light, Prestidigitation
  L1 Spells :
   - 10/10  : Burning Disarm (DC 17), Burning Hands (DC 17),
              Charm person (DC 18), Enlarge Person, Grease (DC 19), Hydraulic Push,
              Mage Armor, Magic Missile, Summon Monster I, Vanish
  L2 Spells :
   - 7/7    : Create Pit (DC 20), Glitterdust (DC 20), Scorching Ray,
              Summon Monster II
  L3 Spells :
   - 3/4    : Slow (DC 19)

  Abilities : Flame lance (8/8), Wand of Magic Missile (41),
              Wand of Alter Self (24), Wand of Cure Light Wounds (50)